The Originals Season 2 Burning Question: Will There Be a Time Jump?

So far, the timelines of The Vampire Diaries and its spin-off The Originalshave been kept roughly the same, allowing for a few crossovers earlier in their recent seasons. But, with the news that TVD will be including a “substantial time jump” between Seasons 5 and 6, where does that leave The Originals? Will we pick back up with the supernaturals of NOLA after a significant amount of time has passed — or will these two shows be slightly off time-wise from here on out? We speculate below!

The Originals will have a time jump

In a lot of ways, a time jump make sense for The Originals. Keeping on the same timeline makes any potential crossovers with TVD much easier and, let’s be real, there better be crossovers. A significant time jump could also be a good narrative move for The Originals. There isn’t any lingering plot point which demands the Season 2 premiere pick up shortly after the Season 1 finale. Sure, villains on this show like Mikael and Esther rarely take their time enacting vengeance against their foes — in this case, their own children — but the Mikaelson parentals have been after their children for centuries, they can wait a few more months. A time jump also allows for a host of new dynamics to explore in the upcoming season. Perhaps, new friendships have formed while others have drifted apart. With a time jump, we get to see a whole new story that allows a recent backstory to unfold along with it, which can be a great source of suspense and character drama.

The Originals doesn’t need a time jump -- it has its own stories to tell

On the other hand, perhaps this is an opportunity for The Originals to put even more distance between itself and its source material — something every spin-off arguably has to do to become successful in its own right. Tying itself to the timeline of another show is setting a dangerous precedent, that perhaps implies a prioritization of crossovers over the much more important episode-to-episode plot. Furthermore, these shows can still figure out crossovers with one another even if they’re on different timelines — it’s just going to be a bit more complicated. Or, in the spirit of never knowing the heck how much time has actually passed on these shows, maybe TVD and The Originals will ignore the time jump completely, and crossover in present-time whenever they feel like it without explanation. We suppose time could have been passing at a different rate on The Originals since Klaus and Rebekah returned from their vacay in Mystic Falls.

Do you think The Originals should institute a time jump like its sister show? Why or why not? Sound off in the comments below!

Kayti Burt is a contributing writer for Wetpaint Entertainment with a penchant for all things pop culture. Follow her on Twitter and Google+!